It was a joy to read the essays and see the photos submitted to our Senior Horse Essay Contest this year. It was very difficult, as usual, to choose the winners. In the end, I chose those who most closely followed the submission guidelines and whose words and photos best described their appreciation for their senior horses. I believe everyone who loves and learns from a senior horse is already a winner.
We are grateful to SciencePure for partnering with us in this contest by sponsoring the winners’ award of a one-month supply (3.3 lb. bucket) of SciencePure Glucosamine Plus.
– COHS Editor, Kim Roe
Adult Winner – Cindy Bradley and Bullet
Essay and photo by Cindy Bradley, Blanca, CO
Bullet is a grade Quarter and Tennessee Walking Horse. At roughly 33 years old, this palomino is everything I never knew I needed. Little did I know how much this $700 sale-barn pony would change my life. I wouldn’t trade him for anything.
I was excited when I brought him home but had a lot to learn; he gladly taught me and gave everything I asked of him. He continuously surprised me. I believe he truly wanted to do whatever he could to make his girl happy. I appreciate him and everything he has taught me—mostly to be grateful and humble. The true all-around horse, he did English and Western 4H events, rodeos, cross-country fox hunts, and even pulled a one-horse open sleigh.
Through the years he got ridden less. I went off to school and then moved across the country for a career. Visiting home would break my heart. I’d pull in the drive, immediately call for him, and he’d whinny and come running in from the back 40. I’d give him a good head scratch and tell him he was a “good, handsome boy.”
A year and a half ago, I was able to make our dreams come true and move him 1,500 miles to have him (and his senior sisters) with me. I was afraid the stress would be too much but it was the only option. They all did great and were surprised at the new scenery (Michigan to Colorado).
He’s always been a hard keeper and now he barely has any teeth left, so he gets mash twice a day. He keeps my wallet empty with the senior feed and supplement bill, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now he’s spoiled rotten with therapeutic massages every other week. I treat him as my therapist, so the feed and care is his payment for listening to me. He enjoys being hand walked and occasionally I throw a leg over him and he gives me a short ride to the front of the pasture. We’ve been together for 20 years and I look forward to the time I have left with him. It will be impossible for another horse to live up to this ol’ man and I don’t want to think of a final goodbye. I only hope I can make his last years as enjoyable as he’s made my life and repay him for all he’s done.
Youth Winner – Amber Boland and Sammy
Essay and photo by Amber Boland, Colorado Springs CO
I’ve had many horses in my life: old ones, young ones, and the ones who taught me how to ride and how to care for such an animal—though none have quite been like Sammy.
Sammy is my 18-year-old quarter horse who came to me 10 years ago. He was timid, skinny, and frightened from the things that happened to him in the past, therefore he was given the name “Darling’s Dark Angel” but all I can see in him is an angel (who may be a little chunky now). I never wanted to ride him—I was content riding an easier horse who did everything I asked. But something changed when I decided to train him. He was difficult and scared of many things like loud sounds and things that flapped; it was frustrating. Through it all, he just wanted to keep doing it for me, and he persevered through his fears.
I never thought I’d say it, but Sammy became my heart horse because he gave me something to trust and love unconditionally. He’s a horse who gives 2-year-old kids their first ride, allows grandparents to enjoy a smooth trail ride, and a horse who comes to his little girl (me) just so she can smile.
Sammy showed me what true resilience looks like. He was in a tornado before we got him, and even though he was afraid, he made sure that he took care of his little girl. He became my handicapped horse with his allergies and asthma, and even after everything and having a successful four years of riding him, he got white line disease. I wasn’t able to ride him and had to mess with his feet for 18 months, but Sammy came back.
Now he’s a babysitter to other horses and is at the bottom of the pecking order, but he gave me something that words can’t describe. He became my best friend when I didn’t even want him to be. Now he’s the most lovable, hardworking horse who does his job making others smile, but always comes back to me, giving me the world. He tolerates my antics—hopping up and moving and throwing things around him, but you can also tell that he cares and is willing to do anything to stay where he feels is home. You may think that his home would be the other horses or the barn, but it’s with his people.
Sammy can be annoying, but so can I, so we balance each other out, creating a bond that I have yet to experience with anything else. Sammy became everything I needed even when I didn’t know I needed him.
See this article in the November/December 2023 online edition:
Colorado Horse Source Magazine’s November/December Issue 2023 IS HERE!
The Colorado Horse Source is an independently owned and operated print and online magazine for horse owners and enthusiasts of all breeds and disciplines in Colorado and surrounding area. Our contemporary editorial columns are predominantly written by experts in the region, covering the care, training, keeping and enjoyment of horses, with an eye to the specific concerns in our region.